BRUSSELS — Don't mention the Malvinas!
A leaked memo has revealed the "frantic" last-ditch efforts of the U.K. government and its highest-ranking diplomat to prevent the EU signing a declaration with Latin American nations which refers explicitly to the ‘Islas Malvinas' — the Argentine name for the British-owned Falkland Islands.
London and Buenos Aires fought a 10-week war over the islands in 1982. The remote archipelago, located less than 500 km off Argentina’s coast, remains a U.K. territory, though Argentina continues to claim it as its own.
Britain took exception to the use of the 'Islas Malvinas' name in a new communiqué signed in Brussels this week by 60 EU and Latin American nations. It was the EU's first summit with the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) since Britain left the EU in 2020. Previously, the U.K. would have been able to veto language it did not agree with.
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In Britain's self-enforced absence, Argentine negotiators moved swiftly to insert their own name for the islands into the joint declaration, scoring a major diplomatic win.
Behind the scenes London had fought a rearguard action, applying pressure at the very highest level to discourage Brussels from including the wording.
“I hope you can keep the Falkland Islands out of the Summit communique — referring to it will be spun by Argentina as support for their cause, will require us to respond, and increase tensions in the region,” read a text message sent by U.K. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly to the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell.
“I understand CELAC [countries] are pushing to include language on the Falkland Islands in the EU-CELAC Communique… As you know, the UK position is very clear — the Falkland Islands are a self-governing British Overseas Territory,” reads Cleverly's text, which was seen by POLITICO. Both Cleverly and Borrell declined to comment on the leak.
Another EU diplomat, granted anonymity to discuss the matter, said British officials were “frantically calling delegates and attachés ... but to no avail."
A third diplomat said that “only France recommended caution on this issue” during meetings of European ambassadors — a rare moment of Anglo-French unity.
Amidst an outcry in Britain after the final communiqué was published, the EU rushed out a statement clarifying that it took no formal position on the status of the islands.
Peter Stano, spokesman for the European External Action Service, said EU member states had not changed their views on “the Falklands/Malvinas Islands,” and that the bloc was in no position to express any stance given there had been no discussion of the matter at the Council of the EU.
“The EU does not take any position on such issues without a Council mandate,” Stano said.
Sunak wades in
In Britain, however, the damage was already done.
U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's spokesperson told journalists Thursday that the EU-CELAC declaration was a “regrettable choice of words” and that it was "right that the EU has clarified their position."
Some backbench Tory MPs went further, outraged at what they saw as a betrayal of Britain's interests.
Rother Valley MP Alexander Stafford, a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Falkland Islands, said: "To me this really epitomises the EUs approach to democracy. Just like when it comes to treaties, they are happy to ride roughshod over the will of the people — in this case the Falkland islanders."
Crawley MP Henry Smith, a member of the House of Commons foreign affairs committee, added: "The EU needs to start respecting democratic referendums. The overwhelming and clearly-expressed view of Falkland islanders is to remain British — and that must be respected."
Arch-Brexiteer Mark Francois, speaking to the Mail, claimed the “Argentinians will be shouting ‘Rejoice! Rejoice!’ at this major diplomatic blunder by the EU.”
Buenos Aires was indeed jubilant, claiming it was the first time the EU had officially recognized its position on the islands.
“We are extremely happy with the outcome,” said Argentina’s undersecretary for Latin American and Caribbean affairs, Gustavo Martínez Pandiani, who was part of the negotiating team in Brussels.
"It is the first time ever in the biregional dialogue that the question of Malvinas was included in a shared document that is both CELAC and EU. It’s a very important step.”
That in turn received short shrift in London, where officials accused the Argentine government of engaging in a PR war ahead of a general election later this year.
A person familiar with U.K. Foreign Secretary Cleverly's thinking said his “warning that the Argentinians would spin this turns out to be completely accurate." They noted there was “a curious symmetry of the timing of attempts to re-open this topic and that of upcoming elections in Argentina.”
And they added: “The Argentine government can lobby whoever they wish, but it doesn’t change the fact that the Falkland Islands are British. That is the clear will of the Falkland Islanders.”
Horse-trading
The row came after weeks of horse-trading over the text of the final communiqué ahead of the EU-CELAC summit.
Securing condemnation of Russia’s war in Ukraine had been a geopolitical must for the EU — but Latin American countries came with their own sets of demands, including a reference to the Malvinas issue and requests for colonial reparations.
The talks became stuck over the language on Ukraine, with leading CELAC countries struggling to secure universal buy-in for condemnation of Russia. Eventually, Argentina and Brazil used their regional heft to convince most recalcitrant members to get on board — though Nicaragua continued to dissent over the paragraph expressing concern over Russian aggression.
The declaration subsequently noted the “importance of dialogue and respect for international law in the peaceful solution of disputes” with regard to “the question of sovereignty over the Islas Malvinas/Falkland Islands.”
Pandiani, however, denied Argentina had traded off the Malvinas question against the need to get fellow Latin American countries on board in condemnation of the war in Ukraine.
“We don’t use Malvinas as a trade-off or as a negotiation currency," he told POLITICO. “As a negotiator, I had a negotiating mandate from my country."
Emilio Casalicchio contributed reporting.
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